Southern California -- this just in

College shooting: 'He was looking for me,' nursing director says

April 4, 2012 | 3:38
pm

The man who prosecutors say killed seven people and critically injured three more inside a classroom in Oakland arrived in court Wednesday only to stand at a podium inside a glass enclosure and leave in seven minutes without entering a plea.

Judge Sandra K. Bean read each of the charges to One Goh, 43, in front of a packed courtroom and scheduled his next court appearance for April 30 at 2 p.m., when he is expected to enter a plea. She also ordered Goh to have no contact with the three survivors of the rampage. He is being held without bail.

Meanwhile, police have confirmed that the nursing program director at Oikos University was Goh’s primary target when he allegedly peppered the school with bullets.

Police believe Goh sought Ellen Cervellon because she had denied his request for a full tuition refund, the Associated Press reported. Police said that Goh began shooting inside a classroom after being informed that Cervellon wasn’t present.

Cervellon told the AP she was not on campus that morning because she was teaching nursing to students at Cal State East Bay.

"In talking to several of the students and faculty who were there, I think he was looking for me. I have that weight on my shoulders and I don't know what to do with it," she told the AP. "Every single one of those students were going to be an excellent, excellent nurse. They're in my heart and they always will be."

Goh had been expelled this year "for behavioral problems, anger management," Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan told reporters Tuesday. He had been teased for his broken English, and he felt bullied and angry, Jordan said.

He arrived at the campus in an industrial section of east Oakland on Monday morning looking for Cervellon, officials said, but when he couldn't find her, he grabbed a secretary and headed to a classroom.

He allegedly ordered the students inside to line up against the wall. When some refused, he opened fire, officials said. He had time during the rampage, authorities believe, to reload and continue shooting.

Six women and one man were killed. They ranged in age from 21 to 53 and were from South Korea, Nigeria, Nepal and the Philippines, largely immigrant students learning English, nursing, theology and Asian medicine. The secretary, Jordan said, was Goh's first victim.

"We don't believe that any of the victims were the ones that teased him," Jordan said. "We believed he stopped [shooting] because people were able to use the phone. He could have heard people calling 911."

Goh was detained a few hours later by Alameda police officers near a Safeway supermarket.